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Posted on: July 26, 2018

EPCOR Proposes New Rate Hike

EPCOR has an application for an increase in its utility rates pending before the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC).

As part of this application, EPCOR has submitted a request to consolidate its Paradise Valley Water District with the other 10 EPCOR water districts it owns in the state. The other 10 water districts are physically separate from the Paradise Valley District and range as far as Bullhead City in the north to Tubac in the south. The Town has filed testimony with the ACC in the EPCOR rate case opposing the consolidation of the EPCOR PV Water District with the other 10 EPCOR water districts because the data filed by EPCOR suggests that at least 84% of the EPCOR customers in Paradise Valley will end up paying a higher water bill if the PV District is consolidated with the other 10 EPCOR water districts--as compared to a “stand alone” rate increase request.

Related and compounding this consolidation is a change in rate tiers. EPCOR is proposing reducing from a five-tier system to a three-tier system. The existing rate tiers are 0-5,000 gallons per month (gpm); 5,001 to 15,000 gpm; 15,001 – 40,000 gpm; 40,001-80,000 gpm and 80,001+ gpm. The new rate tiers would be 0-3,000 gpm; 3,001 – 9,000 gpm; and 9,001+. Due to the traditionally larger lots in Paradise Valley, a single PV unit could be equivalent to 4-7 units in another community, yet the cost would be higher for the one PV lot owner versus the combined smaller lot units with the same overall consumption. (ex. assumes 35,000 gpm total). Further, three tiers does not incentivize as much water conservation as five tiers because there are fewer break points to ratchet ones consumption downward.

Now, not all PV residents will see an increase. If your average gallons per month (gpm) of water usage is less than 12,000 gpm (for a typical 1” meter size) or 15,600 gpm (for a 5/8” meter), you would likely have a lesser increase in rates if the PV District is consolidated. But if you use more gpm on average than these amounts, consolidation will lead to an increase in your water bill.

If you prefer the PV Water District be left as a stand-alone district with a five-tier rate system, please consider writing to the ACC following the instructions contained below. Thank you for helping PV keep its future water rates low.